A dad-of-three's cannabis cultivation and dealing operation was discovered after police on foot patrol got whiff of the drug through an open door, a court has heard. When police went into John Cherrington's property they saw it had been given over to the production of the drug with dozens of plants in growing tents, stocks of fertiliser, drying rooms, and a bypassed electricity meter.
The defendant was inside the property when police arrived and initially said he had only just discovered that somebody had been using his newly-rented house to grow cannabis and he was in the process of dismantling the farm. But text messages found on the 42-year-old's phone – along with a large number of unexplained payments into his bank account – revealed the truth.
Swansea Crown Court heard the drugs operation was discovered in July 2020 by officers on patrol in Iscoed Road in Hendy near Pontarddulais. Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said officers smelled cannabis coming from the open door of a house in the street and when they looked inside they saw a number of cannabis growing tents. Two people were arrested in the property – Cherrington and a teenager – and another two males ran off and have never been traced.
A search of the property showed it had been given over to the production of cannabis with 50 plants in growing tents in several of the rooms as well as quantities of cut cannabis which was being dried. The electricity meter to the property had been bypassed and in the kitchen was a stash of plant fertiliser.
The prosecutor said Cherrington initially told the officers that he himself had only just discovered the cannabis plantation in the property which he was renting and had been in the process of dismantling it when police walked in. However when Cherrington's phone was checked it was found to contain messages to "very many contacts" over the previous six months relating to drug dealing including some received and sent on the day the cannabis farm was discovered. A subsequent examination of the defendant's bank account uncovered a large number of "unexplained cash deposits and money transfers" totalling around £20,000. Miss Cutter said an analysis of the transactions showed one individual had made 200 transfers to the defendant's account over the previous five years.
Cherrington, of Glyn Llwchwr Road, Pontarddulais, admitted producing cannabis, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and being concerned in the supply of cannabis. He has 33 previous convictions for 66 offences including possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and arson.
Dan Griffiths, for Cherrington, accepted his client had a "formidable record" of offending but said that since serving a prison sentence for arson he had matured and "gained perspective". He said the defendant was well-regarded in the firm where he worked and was a dad to three young children though he realised he had now put his kids' development at risk by his "return to criminality". The advocate pointed to the delay in the case coming to court and to the Cherrington's health problems and said the defendant was now "motivated to leave his criminal past behind him once and for all".
Judge Catherine Richards said it was clear Cherrington had been producing and suppling cannabis for a number of months before police interrupted his operation. The judge said the starting point for sentence was 36 months in custody but given the delay in the case coming to court, the impact on the defendant's children, and Cherrington's health issues that would be reduced to 32 months. With a one-quarter discount for his the defendant's guilty plea that was further reduced to 24 months and was suspended for 24 months. Her Honour said had the case been brought before the court in a more timely manner she suspected it would have been a sentence of immediate custody. Cherrington was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation course, a thinking skills programme, and to do 150 of unpaid work in the community. The court heard an investigation into Cherrington's finances under the Proceeds of Crime Act would now be conducted.
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